Backup of media libraries

ABSTRACT

The disclosed embodiments support the backup of the contents of a media library, or a portion thereof, on one or more storage mediums. More particularly, the contents of the media library may include one or more media items and/or playlists. Once backed up, the contents stored on the storage mediums may be restored to the media library.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to backing up media libraries and, moreparticularly, to backing up items in a media library on multiple storagemediums.

2. Description of the Related Art

Traditionally, music has been purchased at music stores or musicdepartments of larger stores. A consumer will visit the music store ordepartment and manually browse for albums or compact discs (CDs) ofinterest. Often, the music in the music store or department iscategorized by genre, and then indexed by artist. For example, genre caninclude rock, country, pop, soul, jazz, etc. After the consumer selectsan album or CD of interest, the consumer proceeds to a check-outregister to pay for the album or CD being purchased.

In recent years music delivery or distribution over the Internet hasbecome popular. Due to the advances in efficient file formats, such asMP3 and MPEG4, the size of media files have become small enough to maketheir download via the Internet practical. Also, technological advanceshave led to higher-speed Internet connections and lower cost of memory.The combination of these advances make downloading media files, such asfor music and videos, manageable and not too time consuming. Normally,client-side programs assist a user with interaction via the Internetwith a server computer that stores available media files. In this way, auser of a client-side program is able to browse, preview, purchaseand/or download available media files over the Internet.

Once media files have been downloaded, it is often desirable to backupthe media files. This is particularly important where the downloadedmedia files have been purchased from an online media store, since itwould be undesirable to have to re-purchase the same media files in theevent of a loss of data. In order to backup the media files, it istypically necessary to manually copy the desired media files to astorage medium. This manual backup process is tedious andtime-consuming.

Thus, there is a need for an improved backup process that enhances usersatisfaction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed embodiments support the backup of the contents of a medialibrary, or a portion thereof, on one or more storage mediums. Moreparticularly, the contents of the media library may include one or moremedia items and/or playlists. Once backed up, the contents of the medialibrary stored on the storage mediums may be restored to the medialibrary.

In accordance with one embodiment, a backup of a media library may beperformed on a set of storage mediums, which may be of different types.For instance, the storage mediums may include compact disks (CDs) and/ordigital video disks (DVDs). The storage capacity of a storage medium onwhich the contents of at least a portion of the media library is to bestored is determined. One or more media items and/or playlists in themedia library are stored on the storage medium. The storing process isperformed until the storage capacity of the storage medium has beenfully utilized, at which point the process may be performed for anotherstorage medium. The backup process ends when the content of the medialibrary has been completely backed up.

In accordance with one embodiment, the media items that are backed upmay include audio data, video data, image data, or podcast episodes. Forinstance, video data may include television episodes or movies. Some ofthe media items may have been purchased from an online media store,while others may have been obtained via the Internet or another source.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, a media library that has beenpreviously backed up on one or more storage mediums may be restored. Astorage medium is received. One or more media items and/or playlists onthe storage medium are restored such that the media items and/orplaylists are stored on a computer on which the media library is beingrestored. It is determined whether all of the storage mediums have beenrestored. The process may continue until all of the storage mediums havebeen restored.

The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as amethod, system, device, apparatus, graphical user interface, or computerreadable medium. Several embodiments of the invention are discussedbelow.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, theprinciples of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a media purchase system according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram illustrating a general method ofperforming a backup of a media library in accordance with one embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 3 is a screen shot of a representative application program windowthat displays a list of backup options in accordance with one embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 4A-4C are process flow diagrams illustrating a method of performinga backup of a media library in accordance with the backup optionselected from the backup options presented as shown in FIG. 3 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram illustrating a general method ofrestoring a media library from a set of storage mediums in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method of restoring amedia library in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method of restoring amedia item or playlist of a media library in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Itwill be obvious, however, to one skilled in the art, that the presentinvention may be practiced without some or all of these specificdetails. In other instances, well known process steps have not beendescribed in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the presentinvention.

The present invention relates to backing up media libraries. Moreparticularly, the disclosed embodiments relate to backing up mediaassets on a plurality of storage mediums. A media asset can, forexample, be a podcast episode, television episode, audio, video, orimage data.

Embodiments of various aspects of the invention are discussed below withreference to FIGS. 1-7. However, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect tothese figures is for explanatory purposes as the invention extendsbeyond these limited embodiments.

One aspect of the invention pertains to a system and method for backingup media items stored in a media library. Those media items that arebacked up may include, for example, media items that are purchased froman online media store. In order to purchase a media item from the onlinemedia store, a potential purchaser can search and browse throughnumerous media items that are available for purchase. Upon purchasing amedia item, the media item is downloaded and stored in a media library.In addition, the media item may be identified in a playlist.

The content for the media item may be encrypted for the purchaser's useand stored on the purchaser's machine. Thereafter, the purchaser canmake use of the media item (e.g., play the media item). However, the useof the media item can still be limited. For example, only up to apredetermined number user machines can be authorized to use the mediaitem, or only up to a predetermined number of compact disc copies can bemade of a grouping or collection of media items (e.g., a playlist).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a media purchase system 100 according toone embodiment of the invention. The media purchase system 100 includesa media commerce server 102. The media commerce server 102 coordinatesreview and/or purchase of media items through on-line transactions.On-line transactions to purchase media items is also referred to aselectronic commerce (e-commerce). The media purchase system 100 alsoincludes a client 104. Typically, the media purchase system 100 wouldinclude a plurality of different clients 104. Each client 104 includes amedia player 108. The media player 108 is an application program (e.g.,software application) that operates on the client 104, which is acomputing device. The client 104 is coupled to the media commerce server102 through a data network 106. Hence, any of the clients 104 caninteract with the media commerce server 102 to review and/or purchasemedia items. In one embodiment, the data network 106 includes at least aportion of the Internet. The clients 104 can vary with application butgenerally are computing devices that have memory storage. Often, theclients 104 are personal computers or other computing devices that arecapable of storing and presenting media to their users.

The media purchase system 100 also includes a media storage server 110and a media store 112. The media storage server 110 represents a remotestorage server that couples to the data network 106. The media store 112provides mass storage of the numerous media items that are available forpurchase via the media purchase system 100. Once purchased, the mediaitems can be accessed from the media store 112 over the data network 106by way of the media storage server 110.

More particularly, the media purchase system 100 allows a user of theclient 104 to utilize the media player 108 to browse, search or sortthrough a plurality of media items that can be purchased from the mediacommerce server 102. The media player 108 may also allow the user topreview a media clip of the media items. In the event that the user ofthe media player 108 desires to purchase a particular media item, theuser (via the media player 108) and the media commerce server 102 engagein an on-line commerce transaction in which the user pays for accessrights to the particular media item. In one embodiment, a credit cardassociated with the user is credited for the purchase amount of theparticular media item.

In the media purchase system 100 shown in FIG. 1, the media items arestored in the media store 112 and retrieved via the media storage server110. Hence, the media commerce server 102 need not burden its resourcesto deliver any of the media items that may be purchased to the client104. Instead, on purchasing a particular media item, the media commerceserver 102 may send download information to the media player 108 on theclient 104. The download information can then be used by the mediaplayer 108 (and the client 104) to retrieve the media content for theparticular media item by interacting with the media storage server 110through the data network 106. In this regard, the media storage server110 obtains the media content corresponding to the particular media itemfrom the media store 112 and downloads such content through the datanetwork 106 to the client 104. The downloaded media content can then bestored on the client 104. In one embodiment, the downloaded mediacontent is stored on the client 104 as received. In another embodiment,the downloaded media content is transcrypted from one encryption key toanother encryption key before persistent storage on the client 104. Instill another embodiment, the downloaded media content is encrypted asreceived at the client 104 but is decrypted and then re-encrypted beforepersistent storage on the client 104. Thereafter, the media player 108can present (e.g., play) the media content at the client 104.

The connections through the data network 106 between the media commerceserver 102, the client 104 and the media storage server 110 can bethrough secure connections, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Further,the media content may be stored at the client 104 in an encryptedmanner.

As discussed in greater detail below, in accordance with one embodiment,a user may backup a media library on one or more storage mediums in anintelligent manner using a backup manager 114 at the client 104. Forinstance, each storage medium may be a compact disk (CD) or digitalvideo disk (DVD). It is important to note that the type of each storagemedium need not be identical.

FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram illustrating a general method ofperforming a backup of a media library in accordance with one embodimentof the invention. In accordance with one embodiment, the number ofstorage mediums used during the backup of the media library isascertained and stored on the last storage medium used during thebackup. This enables the total number of storage mediums used during thebackup to be easily retrieved during the restore process. However, sincethe amount of data that can be stored on each storage medium will varydepending upon the type of each storage medium used, the number ofstorage mediums that will be used cannot be determined until all of thedata has been backed up. As a result, a storage medium sequentialidentifier may be used in order to keep track of the number of storagemediums that have been used during the backup of the media library.Thus, the storage medium sequential identifier may be initialized tozero at 202. When a new storage medium is inserted for backup, thestorage medium sequential identifier may be incremented at 204.

In accordance with one embodiment, the storage medium sequentialidentifier may be stored on the storage medium at 206. In this manner, aunique identifier may be stored on each storage medium used during thebackup process. From the unique identifier, it is possible to trackwhich storage mediums were used to restore the media library during therestore process. In addition, it is also possible to identify the orderin which the storage medium was used during the backup from the storagemedium sequential identifier, should the order become relevant duringthe restore process.

Since different types of storage mediums may be used during the backupprocess, the storage capacity of the storage medium may be determined at208 in order to ascertain the amount of data that can be stored on thestorage medium. At least a portion of the media library may then bestored on the storage medium at 210. More particularly one or more mediaitems and/or one or more playlists from the media library may be storedon the storage medium. In accordance with one embodiment, a copy of eachof the playlists in the media library is stored on each storage mediumon which the content of at least a portion of the media library isstored. This enables the user to access his or her playlists, even whenthe content of all of the storage mediums has not yet been restored. Ofcourse, the media content corresponding to each of the items in theplaylist may not be accessible if the media content was not yetrestored.

If the content of the media library has not been completely backed up at212, the process continues at 214 to determine whether the capacity ofthe storage medium has been fully utilized. If the capacity of thestorage medium has been fully utilized, the process continues at 204 atwhich point a new storage medium is inserted. More particularly, theuser may be prompted for insertion of another storage medium. If thecontent of the media library has been completely backed up, the storagemedium sequential identifier may be stored as the total number ofstorage mediums used during the backup at 216.

When a user wishes to backup a media library such as an iTunes medialibrary, the user may access a user interface (i.e., application programwindow) displaying a list of backup options. FIG. 3 is a screen shot ofa representative application program window that displays a list ofbackup options in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Inthis example, the first backup option is to backup the entire medialibrary including all media items and playlists in the media library.The second backup option presented in this example is to back up onlymedia items in the media library purchased from the online media store.The second backup option does not backup playlists. The third backupoption illustrated in FIG. 3 enables the user to back up only mediaitems added to the media library since the last backup or media itemsthat have changed since the last backup. The third option does notbackup playlists.

As described above, the user may select one of a number of backupoptions. FIG. 4A-4C are is a process flow diagram illustrating a methodof performing a backup of a media library in accordance with a backupoption selected from the backup options presented as shown in FIG. 3 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. As shown at 402, thebackup options are provided at 402. If the user selects the first optionto backup the entire library and corresponding playlists at 404, astorage medium sequential identifier may be initialized to zero at 406.A storage medium may be inserted at 408 and the storage mediumsequential identifier may be incremented at 408. The storage mediumsequential identifier may be stored on the storage medium at 410. Thecapacity of the storage medium may also determined at 412. One or moremedia items may be stored on the storage medium at 414. In addition, oneor more playlists may be stored on the storage medium at 416. Of course,it is possible that a single storage medium may store only media itemsor playlists. If the content of the entire library has not been backedup at 418 and the capacity of the storage medium has not been fullyutilized at 420, the process continues at 414 to continue storing itemsin the media library on the storage medium. If the content of the entirelibrary has not been backed up at 418 and the capacity of the storagemedium has been fully utilized at 420, the process continues at 408 foran additional storage medium. If the entire content of the library hasbeen backed up at 418, the total number of storage mediums used for thebackup may be stored on the storage medium at 422.

If the user selects the second option to backup only online media storepurchases at 424, a storage medium sequential identifier may beinitialized to zero at 426. All online media store purchases in themedia library may be identified at 428. A storage medium may be insertedat 430 and the storage medium sequential identifier may be incremented.The storage medium sequential identifier may be stored on the storagemedium at 432. The capacity of the storage medium may also be determinedat 434. One or more media items that were purchased from the onlinemedia store may be stored on the storage medium at 436. If the contentof the entire library has not been backed up at 438 and the capacity ofthe storage medium has not been fully utilized at 440, the processcontinues at 436 to continue storing online media store purchases fromthe media library on the storage medium. If the content of the entirelibrary has not been backed up at 438 and the capacity of the storagemedium has been fully utilized at 440, the process continues at 430 foran additional storage medium. If the entire content of the library hasbeen backed up at 438, the total number of storage mediums used for thebackup may be stored on the storage medium at 441.

If the user selects the third option to backup media items added to themedia library or changed since the last backup at 442, a storage mediumsequential identifier may be initialized to zero at 444. Once the dateand/or time of the last backup has been ascertained, all online mediaitems that have been added to the media library or changed since thelast backup may be identified at 446. A storage medium may be insertedat 448 and the storage medium sequential identifier may be incremented.The storage medium sequential identifier may be stored on the storagemedium at 450. The capacity of the storage medium may also be determinedat 452. One or more of the identified media items may be stored on thestorage medium at 454. If the content of the entire library has not beenbacked up at 456 and the capacity of the storage medium has not beenfully utilized at 458, the process continues at 454 to continue storingonline media store purchases from the media library on the storagemedium. If the content of the entire library has not been backed up at456 and the capacity of the storage medium has been fully utilized at458, the process continues at 448 for an additional storage medium. Ifthe entire content of the library has been backed up at 456, the totalnumber of storage mediums used for the backup may be stored on thestorage medium at 460.

Once a media library has been backed up on a set of storage mediums, themedia library may be restored at a later time from the set of storagemediums. FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram illustrating a general methodof restoring a media library from a set of storage mediums in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention. A storage medium is received at502. At least one of the media items and/or playlists on the storagemedium are restored at 504. More particularly, each of the media itemsand playlists on the storage medium may be restored such that the mediaitems and playlists are stored on a computer (e.g., within a medialibrary). One method of restoring a media item or playlist in a medialibrary will be described in further detail below with reference to FIG.7. Where the same playlist is stored on all of the storage mediums, theplaylist need not be restored from each of the storage mediums. It maybe determined whether all of the storage mediums have been restored at506. If all of the storage mediums have been restored at 508, theprocess ends at 510. Otherwise, the process continues at 502 for theremaining storage mediums used for the backup.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating a more detailed method ofrestoring a media library in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention. As shown at 602, a storage medium may be inserted. A storagemedium sequential identifier may be obtained from the storage medium at604. The storage medium sequential identifier may then be stored at 606to track the storage mediums that have been restored. Each of the mediaitems stored on the storage medium may be restored at 608. In addition,each playlist stored on the storage medium may be restored at 610. Onemethod of restoring a media item or playlist in a media library will bedescribed in further detail below with reference to FIG. 7.

If the total number of storage mediums (e.g., disks) is not known at612, it is determined whether a total number of storage mediums used forthe backup is stored on the storage medium at 614. If the total numberof storage mediums used for the backup has been retrieved from thestorage medium at 616, the total number of storage mediums used for thebackup may be stored at 618. If the total number of storage mediums usedfor the backup was not stored on the storage medium and therefore hasnot been retrieved at 616, the process continues at 626, at which timethe user may be prompted for the next storage medium, which may beinserted at 602. If the total number of disks is already known at 612,the process continues at 620.

Since the total number of storage mediums used for the backup is known,it is determined whether all of the storage mediums have been restoredat 620. This may be accomplished by comparing the total number ofstorage mediums with the sequential identifiers that have been trackedfor those storage mediums that have already been restored. If therestore is complete at 622, a message indicating that the restoreprocess is complete may be displayed at 624. If the restore is notcomplete, the user may be prompted for the next storage medium at 626.

As set forth above, once a media library has been backed up on a set ofstorage mediums, the contents of the media library may be restored fromthe storage mediums. Restoring the contents of a media library mayinclude restoring a media item or a playlist. While it is generallydesirable to restore all files that have been backed up, there are avariety of circumstances in which this would be undesirable. As oneexample, the file being restored may already be present in the medialibrary. For instance, the user may have propagated an error in aplaylist that was stored during backup, but which was later fixed by theuser. By automatically restoring the playlist, the user would berestoring an erroneous file that he has already corrected.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an overwrite settingmay indicate whether the contents of a file in the media library shouldbe overwritten during the restore process. The overwrite setting may bea default setting. Alternatively, the overwrite setting may beestablished by a user. The overwrite setting when in a first state(i.e., on) results in the overwriting of a file in the media library,while the overwrite setting when in a second state (i.e., off) resultsin the file not being overwritten and therefore not being restored.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method of restoring amedia item or playlist of a media library in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention. As shown at 702, the overwrite setting isascertained at 702. It is determined whether the media item or playliston the storage medium is already present in the media library at 704. Ifthe media item or playlist is not already present in the media libraryat 706, the media item or playlist is restored at 708. However, if themedia item or playlist is already present in the media library at 706,if the overwrite setting is not on at 710, the media item or playlist isnot restored at 712. In other words, the version of the media item orplaylist obtained from the storage medium is not stored in the medialibrary. If the media item or playlist is already present in the medialibrary at 706, if the overwrite setting is on at 710, the media item orplaylist is restored at 708, thereby overwriting the previous file.

The disclosed embodiments enable the contents of a media library to bebacked up on a set of storage mediums. The contents of a media librarymay include one or more playlists and/or media items. The media itemscan pertain to audio items (e.g., audio files or songs, such as formusic or audiobooks), video items (e.g., video files, televisionepisodes, or movies), podcast episodes, or image items (e.g., photos).The storage mediums may be the same or different types. Once the backupis completed, the media library may be restored from the set of storagemediums. The various aspects, features, embodiments or implementationsof the invention described above can be used alone or in variouscombinations.

The invention is preferably implemented by software, but can also beimplemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software. Theinvention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computerreadable medium. The computer readable medium is any data storage devicethat can store data which can thereafter be read by a computer system.Examples of the computer readable media include read-only memory,random-access memory, CD-ROMs, DVDs, magnetic tape, and optical datastorage devices. The computer readable medium can also be distributedover network-coupled computer systems so that the computer readable codeis stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

The advantages of the invention are numerous. Different embodiments orimplementations may, but need not, yield one or more of the followingadvantages. One advantage of the invention is that media items and/orplaylists are able to be backed up from a user's machine to a set ofstorage mediums. Another advantage is that the storage mediums may be ofdifferent types, and may therefore have different storage capacities.Still another advantage is that the backed up media library content maybe restored from the set of storage mediums to the user's media library.

The many features and advantages of the present invention are apparentfrom the written description and, thus, it is intended by the appendedclaims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention.Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur tothose skilled in the art, the invention should not be limited to theexact construction and operation as illustrated and described. Hence,all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to as fallingwithin the scope of the invention.

1. A method of performing a backup of a media library, comprising:determining storage capacity of a storage medium on which content of atleast a portion of the media library is to be stored; storing at leastone of one or more media items or one or more playlists in the medialibrary on the storage medium; performing the storing step until thestorage capacity of the storage medium has been fully utilized or thecontent of the media library has been completely backed up; obtaininganother storage medium and repeating the determining, storing andperforming steps when the storage capacity of the storage medium hasbeen fully utilized and the content of the media library is not yetcompletely backed up; and storing a copy of each of the playlists in themedia library on each storage medium on which the content of at least aportion of the media library is stored or to be stored.
 2. The method asrecited in claim 1, further comprising: determining whether the storagecapacity of the storage medium has been fully utilized; and when it isdetermined that the storage capacity of the storage medium has beenfully utilized, prompting for insertion of another storage medium andrepeating the determining, storing and performing steps when anotherstorage medium has been inserted.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1,further comprising: determining whether the content of the media libraryhas been completely backed up; and storing a total number of storagemediums used for the backup on one of the storage medium being used toback up the content of the media library.
 4. The method as recited inclaim 1, further comprising: storing a sequential identifier on eachstorage medium.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:providing a user interface including a set of backup options.
 6. Themethod as recited in claim 5, wherein the set of backup options includesat least one of backing up all media items and playlists in the medialibrary, backing up only media items in the media library purchased froman online store, or backing up only media items that have either beenadded to the media library since a last backup or that have been changedsince the last backup.
 7. The method as recited in claim 1, the methodfurther comprising: identifying each media item in the media librarythat has been purchased from an online media store; wherein, as tostoring the one or more media items, said storing only stores thosemedia items in the media library that have been purchased from theonline media store.
 8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein, as tostoring the one or more media items, said storing only stores thosemedia items in the media library that have been added to the medialibrary since a last backup or changed since the last backup.
 9. Themethod as recited in claim 8, further comprising: identifying each mediaitem in the media library that has been added to the media library sincethe last backup; and identifying each media item in the media librarythat has been changed since the last backup; wherein, as to storing theone or more media items, said storing only stores those media items inthe media library that have been added to the media library since thelast backup or changed since the last backup includes at least storingthe identified media items that have been added to the media librarysince the last backup and the identified media items that have beenchanged since the last backup.
 10. The method as recited in claim 1,further comprising: restoring each of the media items and playlists onthe storage medium such that the media items and playlists are stored ona computer.
 11. A method of restoring a media library that haspreviously been backed up on one or more storage mediums, comprising:restoring at least one of one or more media items or one or moreplaylists on a storage medium such that the media items or playlists arestored on a computer on which the media library is being restored;determining whether all of the storage mediums have been restored; andwhen all of the storage mediums have not been restored, repeating therestoring and determining steps, wherein said restoring includes atleast: obtaining an overwrite setting; determining whether a media itemor playlist on the storage medium is present in the media library; whenthe media item or playlist is not present in the media library,restoring the media item or playlist; when the media item or playlist ispresent in the media library and the overwrite setting is on, restoringthe media item or playlist; and when the media item or playlist ispresent in the media library and the overwrite setting is off, notrestoring the media item or playlist.
 12. The method as recited in claim11, further comprising: obtaining a sequential identifier from thestorage medium; tracking all sequential identifiers associated with eachstorage medium used to restore; determining whether a total number ofstorage mediums associated with the backup is known; and when the totalnumber of storage mediums is known, comparing the total number ofstorage mediums with the sequential identifiers that have been tracked.13. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising: ascertainingwhether a total number of storage mediums used for the backup is presenton the storage medium; when the total number of storage mediums used forthe backup is present on the storage medium, obtaining the total numberof storage mediums used for the backup from the storage medium andstoring the total number of storage mediums used for the backup.
 14. Themethod as recited in claim 12, wherein tracking comprises: storing thesequential identifier.
 15. The method as recited in claim 11, furthercomprising: when all of the storage mediums have been restored,displaying a message indicating that the restore of the media library iscomplete.
 16. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising:when all of the storage mediums have not been restored, providing aprompt for an additional storage medium.
 17. A computer-readable storagemedium storing thereon instructions for performing a backup of a medialibrary, comprising: instructions for determining storage capacity of astorage medium on which content of at least a portion of the medialibrary is to be stored; instructions for identifying each media item inthe media library that has been purchased from an online media store;instructions for storing at least one of one or more media items or oneor more playlists in the media library on the storage medium;instructions for performing the instructions for storing until thestorage capacity of the storage medium has been fully utilized or thecontent of the media library has been completely backed up, wherein theone or more media items in the media library being stored on the storagemedium are only those of the media items in the media library that havebeen purchased from the online media store; instructions for obtaininganother storage medium and repeating the instructions for determining,storing and performing when the storage capacity of the storage mediumhas been fully utilized and the content of the media library is not yetcompletely backed up; and instructions for storing a copy of each of theplaylists in the media library on each storage medium on which thecontent of at least a portion of the media library is stored or to bestored.
 18. The computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 17,further comprising: instructions for determining whether the content ofthe media library has been completely backed up; and instructions forstoring a total number of storage mediums used for the backup on thestorage medium.
 19. The computer readable storage medium as recited inclaim 17, further comprising: instructions for storing a sequentialidentifier on the storage medium.
 20. The computer readable storagemedium as recited in claim 17, further comprising: instructions forproviding a user interface including a set of backup options.
 21. Thecomputer readable storage medium as recited in claim 20, wherein the setof backup options includes at least one of backing up all media itemsand playlists in the media library, backing up only media items in themedia library purchased from an online store, or backing up only mediaitems that have either been added to the media library since a lastbackup or that have been changed since the last backup.
 22. The computerreadable storage medium as recited in claim 17, wherein, as to storingthe one or more media items, said instructions for storing only storesthose media items in the media library that have been added to the medialibrary since a last backup or changed since the last backup.
 23. Anapparatus for performing a backup of a media library, comprising: aprocessor; and a memory, at least one of the processor or the memorybeing adapted for: determining storage capacity of a storage medium onwhich content of at least a portion of the media library is to bestored; storing at least one of one or more media items or one or moreplaylists in the media library on the storage medium; and performing thestoring step until the storage capacity of the storage medium has beenfully utilized or the content of the media library has been completelybacked up, obtaining another storage medium and repeating thedetermining, storing and performing steps when the storage capacity ofthe storage medium has been fully utilized and the content of the medialibrary is not yet completely backed up; and storing a copy of each ofthe playlists in the media library on each storage medium on which thecontent of at least a portion of the media library is stored or to bestored.
 24. A computer-readable storage medium storing thereoncomputer-readable instructions for restoring a media library that haspreviously been backed up on one or more storage mediums, comprising:instructions for restoring at least one of one or more media items orone or more playlists on a storage medium such that the media items orplaylists are stored on a computer on which the media library is beingrestored; instructions for determining whether all of the storagemediums have been restored; and instructions for repeating theinstructions for restoring and determining when all of the storagemediums have not been restored, wherein said instructions for restoringinclude at least: instructions for obtaining an overwrite setting;instructions for determining whether a media item or playlist on thestorage medium is present in the media library; instructions forrestoring the media item or playlist when the media item or playlist isnot present in the media library; instructions for restoring the mediaitem or playlist when the media item or playlist is present in the medialibrary and the overwrite setting is on; and instructions for notrestoring the media item or playlist when the media item or playlist ispresent in the media library and the overwrite setting is off.